JP3432911B2 - Combination weighing system - Google Patents

Description

Detailed Description of the Invention

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention conveys fragile articles such as molded potato chips and biscuits formed in a fixed shape in an aligned state, performs a combination calculation on the weights thereof, and discharges the articles in the aligned state. A combination weighing system.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art Conventionally, as a combination weighing system, a plurality of hoppers loaded with articles are opened to drop articles into the respective weighing hoppers directly below, and the weight of the articles is individually loaded into each weighing hopper by a load cell. It is known that weighing is performed, the microcomputer performs a combination calculation of the respective measured values input from the load cell, and a comparison calculation between the calculation result and the target value selects a combination close to the target value within a certain allowable range. ing.

[0003]

However, in recent years,
Snack confectionery such as shaped potato chips and large biscuits that are molded into a certain shape may be sold in a cylindrical packaging box in an aligned state of being stacked on top of each other. Could not use the combination weighing system described above. That is, in the above-described combination weighing system, when the articles are fragile because they are dropped, the articles are cracked or chipped to impair the commercial value, and the articles cannot be discharged in the stacked alignment state, so that they cannot be boxed.

The present invention solves the above-mentioned problems and provides a combination weighing system capable of combining and weighing snack confectionery such as shaped potato chips formed in a constant shape in an aligned state and discharging the snack in a packaging process. The purpose is to do.

[0005]

In order to achieve the above object, a combination weighing system according to a first aspect of the present invention is a combination weighing system in which a plurality of supply paths for sequentially supplying articles are provided in parallel in the lateral direction orthogonal to the article conveying direction. An apparatus, a plurality of weighing machines arranged corresponding to each of the supply paths, for weighing articles supplied from the supply paths, and articles discharged from each of the weighing machines are discharged to a predetermined discharge port. A combination calculation means for performing a combination calculation of the discharge device and the weighing values of the respective weighing machines, selecting a combination of the weighing machines whose calculation result is within an allowable range, and carrying out the weighed article to the discharge device. , The transport timing of the selected article transported by the discharge device,
Aligning means for aligning all the selected articles at the discharge port along the conveying direction by making the selected articles different from each other.

A combination weighing system according to a second aspect of the present invention is the combination weighing system according to the first aspect, wherein the discharging device is a main conveyor to which the articles discharged from the respective weighing machines in an aligned state are simultaneously carried to an upstream end in a parallel state. The articles are arranged on the main conveyor in a plurality of rows in which the articles are conveyed by increasing the number from the conveyance path near one side of the main conveyor to prevent the articles from being conveyed by the main conveyor. A large number of gates are arranged so as to traverse the front of the final stage gate of each transfer path, and at the time of opening the final stage gate of each transfer path, articles that have been blocked by the transfer are introduced, A collective conveyor that moves the introduced articles in parallel in front of the gate at the final stage of the adjacent transfer path by laterally moving one pitch corresponding to each transfer path,
By opening and closing the large number of gates at the same time, the articles on each transfer path are intermittently transferred to the position of the gate at the next stage of the transfer path or to the collective conveyor, and until the next simultaneous opening and closing of the gates. And a lateral movement control means for laterally moving the collective conveyor by one pitch.

[0007]

According to the combination weighing system of the first aspect, the aligning means is supplied from each supply path, is calculated by the combination calculating means, and the conveying timing of the selected articles conveyed by the discharging device is set, By making each selected article different, all the selected articles are aligned at the outlet along the transport direction. Therefore, the articles supplied from the respective supply paths can be combined and weighed in the aligned state and discharged in the packaging step.

According to the combination weighing system of claim 2,
The gates were arranged diagonally with respect to the main conveyor between the simultaneous opening and closing of a large number of gates arranged one by one from the transfer path near one side of the main conveyor and the next simultaneous opening and closing. Since the collecting conveyor moves laterally by one pitch, the articles introduced from one transfer path in the aligned state are sequentially overlapped with the articles introduced from the other one transfer path in the aligned state,
A plurality of sets of articles will be gathered in a row in the gathering conveyor while maintaining their aligned state.

[0009]

Embodiments of the present invention will be described below with reference to the drawings. 1 is a schematic side view showing a combination weighing system according to a first embodiment of the present invention, and FIG. 2 is a schematic plan view of FIG. This example illustrates the case where the present invention is applied to a combination weighing for snack confectionery such as shaped potato chips shaped into a certain shape. This combination weighing system is like a feeder 1 for sequentially feeding articles X, which are, for example, molded potato chips, and a weighing conveyor for weighing the articles X fed from the feeder 1, for example, conveying and weighing the articles X. The weighing machine 2 and the discharging device 3 that discharges the article X carried out from the weighing machine 2 to a predetermined discharge port are installed on the floor F, and the control unit 45 including the combination calculating means 20 is provided. ing.

[Supply Device] As shown in FIG. 1, in the supply device 1, a supply trough 6 divided into eight parts is installed on a pedestal 4 through eight vibrators 5. 6
2, a plurality of rows, for example, 18 rows of the article supply paths 6a are arranged in the lateral direction A orthogonal to the conveyance direction C of the articles X.
Are provided side by side. In each article supply path 6a,
As shown in FIG. 1, a large number of articles X formed in a predetermined shape in a manufacturing process (not shown) are respectively supplied in an aligned state, and these articles X are supplied by a supply trough 6 driven by each vibrator 5. Is transferred in the transport direction C while maintaining the aligned state.

[Measuring Device] The weighing machine 2 is provided with a weighing unit 9 on a base B fixed to the floor F via a support mechanism 7. The weighing unit 9 has a combination calculation means. 20
Unit 10 in which an electric device including a
And a first pool conveyor unit 11 and a weighing conveyor unit 12 (a part of the weighing device WE), which are provided on the electric unit 10 in association with the article supply path 6a.

Each of the above first pool conveyor units 11
As shown in FIG. 2, the width direction A is set so that the first pool conveyors 13 provided on the respective upper portions are connected in series to the respective article supply paths 6a in the supply trough 6.
Are arranged in parallel. Further, each weighing conveyor unit 12 has a weighing conveyor 14 provided on the upper part thereof.
Are arranged in parallel in the width direction A so as to be connected to the respective first pool conveyors 13 in series. Each of the first pool conveyors 13 and each of the weighing conveyors 14
Are driven by motors (not shown) provided in the corresponding first pool conveyor unit 11 and weighing conveyor unit 12, respectively, and convey the article X in the conveyance direction. In addition, the transport surface 13 of each first pool conveyor 13
As shown in FIG. 4, a is provided on the electric unit 10 by a height H higher than the transport surface 14 a of each weighing conveyor 14. This is for facilitating the delivery of the article X from the first pool conveyor 13 to the weighing conveyor 14.

Further, as shown in FIG. 1, at the front end portion of each first pool conveyor 13 in the carrying direction C, a predetermined amount of the article X in which the molding potato chips are aligned is cut out and supplied to the weighing conveyor 14. For this purpose, supply gates 18 which are opened and closed by a driving machine 17 such as an air cylinder are arranged. When the articles X are large biscuits or chocolates that are weighed one by one, as shown in FIG. 5, a speed V2 faster than the speed V1 of the supply path 6a.
The run-up conveyor 54 is provided between the supply path 6a and the weighing conveyor 14, and the article X on the supply path 6a and the run-up conveyor 5 are provided.
The article X on the sheet 4 may be separated and supplied to the weighing conveyor 14.

Further, in the weighing machine 2, as shown in FIG. 4, a known load cell 46 (a part of the weighing machine WE) is provided between the electric unit 10 and each weighing conveyor unit 12. The load cell 46 has a known weight of the weighing conveyor unit 12,
The weighing conveyor 14 of the corresponding weighing conveyor unit 12
Only the weight of the article X conveyed above is weighed and a weighing signal is output.

[Discharging Device] As shown in FIG. 2, the discharging device 3 is a flat belt discharging conveyor 19A having a wide width for receiving the articles X carried out from the eighteen weighing conveyors 14, and this discharging conveyor. A delivery conveyor 19 that is arranged downstream of 19A and is narrower than the discharge conveyor 19A.
B and. The discharge conveyor 19A and the delivery conveyor 19B are driven by motors 42 and 44 attached to their supporting bases 41 and 43 shown in FIG. As shown in FIG. 2, on the discharge conveyor 19A, two guide rail members 21 are arranged in a substantially V-shape, and each weighing conveyor 14 is provided between the downstream ends of both guide rail members 21 and 21 in the transport direction. A discharge port 32 for collecting and discharging the articles X carried out from is formed.

Five modified Y-shaped guide members 22 in which one of the Y-shaped bifurcated portions is elongated are provided on the upstream end side of the discharge conveyor 19A in the conveying direction. Each guide member in the discharge conveyor 19A is provided. Between the guide rail members 22 and the guide rail members 21, six substantially triangular front collecting areas 25 for collecting the articles X from each of the three weighing conveyors 14 as one group are formed. On the upstream side in the transport direction of each front gathering area 25, the pool portion 23 that follows each of the weighing conveyors 14 is formed by the upstream end portion in the transport direction of the guide member 22 and the partition member 24 that is juxtaposed thereto. Therefore, the articles X are conveyed to each front gathering area 25 while keeping the aligned state of the articles X through the pool section 23. As shown in FIG. 1, a pool gate 27 that is opened and closed by a driving machine 26 such as an air cylinder is provided on the downstream end side of each of the article carry-in paths.
Is installed.

At the center of the discharge conveyor 19A,
As shown in FIG. 2, a V-shaped guide plate 28 is provided, and three articles from the front assembly area 25 are provided between the guide plate 28 and both guide rail members 21 in the discharge conveyor 19A. Two substantially triangular main gathering areas 29 for gathering X as one group are formed. As shown in FIG. 1, an intermediate gate 31 that is opened and closed by a driving machine 30 such as an air cylinder is installed in each main gathering area 29 at a position corresponding to the entrance of the article X from each front gathering area 25. Further, a discharge gate 34 that is opened and closed by a driving machine 33 such as an air cylinder is provided on both sides of the discharge port 32 described above.
Are installed one by one.

Further, on the delivery conveyor 19B, in order to collect the articles X discharged from the discharge port 32 in a line, the two alignment guide plates 35 and 36 shown in FIG.
Both of the alignment guide plates 35, 3 are arranged in a V shape.
A drive device 37 such as an air cylinder is provided near the center of 6
Final gates 38 that are opened and closed by are respectively provided. A pair of alignment plates 39 are installed in parallel with the alignment guide plates 35 and 36 at a distance corresponding to the size of the article X.
An article delivery path 40 for delivering the articles X in a line in an aligned state to the packaging step is formed between the two alignment plates 39, 39.

The above gates 18, 27, 31, 3
4, 38 and driving machines 17, 26, 3 for driving these
0, 33, 37 are supported by a frame (not shown) installed on the floor F, and the guide rail members 21,
The guide member 22, the partition member 24, the guide plate 28, the alignment guide plates 35 and 36, and the alignment plate 39 are attached to the frame in a suspended state.

[Combination Calculation Means] The electric unit 10 in the weighing device 2 is provided with a control unit 45 including a microcomputer as shown in FIG. 3, and the combination calculation means 20 is provided in the control unit 45. It is built in. The control unit 45 inputs the weighing signals obtained by weighing the weight of the article X by the respective load cells 46, performs the combination calculation based on the respective weighing signals, and the result of the combination calculation falls within the allowable range. By selecting a combination of certain weighing units 9, each pool gate cylinder 26 of the selected weighing unit 9 is selected.
Is operated, the pool gate 27 is opened, and the article X is carried out to the discharge device 3. Further, the control unit 45 controls the operation of each of the other driving machines 17, 30, 33, 37 and the operation of each first pool conveyor 13 to control the supply and discharge of the article X. Also, in this example,
Since the weighing signals of the nine weighing conveyor units 12 are combined to select one optimal combination,
From the weighing conveyor unit 12 of the table, two optimum combinations are obtained for convenience.

[Operation] Next, the operation of the combination weighing system of the first embodiment will be described. When the articles X are supplied to the respective article supply paths 6a of the supply trough 6 of FIG. 1 in an aligned state from the manufacturing process, the articles X are maintained in the aligned state and the corresponding first pools from the respective article supply paths 6a. It is carried into the weighing conveyor 14 through the conveyor 13.
At this time, the control unit 45 first operates the supply gate cylinders 17 to open the supply gates 18, thereby weighing the articles X on the first pool conveyor 13 that have been prevented from being conveyed by the supply gates 18. It is carried onto the conveyor 14. The control unit 45 is
When a predetermined time has elapsed, the first pool conveyor 13 is once stopped and then reversely driven, and at the same time, each supply gate cylinder 17 is operated to close the supply gate 18. Since the weighing conveyor 14 is constantly driven, the article X transferred to the weighing conveyor 14 is transported to the downstream side, while the article X on the first pool conveyor 13 is transported in the transport direction by the reverse driving. It is returned to the upstream side. In this way, a substantially predetermined amount of the article X is reliably carried onto the weighing conveyor 14.

In the process in which the article X carried on the weighing conveyor 14 is transferred to each article carrying path on the discharge conveyor 19A, the load cell 46 weighs the corresponding article X and weighs the control unit 45. Output a signal. The control unit 45 performs a combination calculation on the weight value of each weighing signal, and selects a combination in which the calculation result, that is, the combination addition value is within a certain allowable range determined based on the target weight.

In that case, as shown in FIG. 4, the articles X supplied from the first pool conveyor 13 to the weighing conveyor 14
Is the pool section 23 on the downstream side after passing through the weighing conveyor 14.
Since it is carried out to and is stopped by the pool gate 27, the above-described combination calculation is actually performed on the articles X stored in the pool unit 23. At this time, the pool unit 23 not selected as the combination
Since the article X is not supplied to the weighing conveyor 14 corresponding to, the zero point adjustment is performed during that time, and the accuracy of the combination calculation can be maintained. Also, the article X
If the amount of is too small to cause a defective combination, the weighing conveyor 14 is in an empty state, and therefore the supply gate 18 is opened to supply the shortage article X to the weighing conveyor 14 and to the pool section 23. By supplying, the amount of the article X can be secured. As a result, the frequency of occurrence of measurement failure is significantly reduced.

Then, the discharge control means 51 of the control unit 45 opens the pool gate 27 which blocks the conveyance of the articles X corresponding to the combination, and guides the articles X into the corresponding front gathering area 25. . Here, the articles X from the plurality of article carry-in paths to the single front gathering area 25.
Is transferred, the three pool gates 27 belonging to the front gathering area 25 are opened at different timings, and the opening time of each pool gate 27 depends on the weight value of the corresponding article X. Controlled.

For example, when all the articles X of the three article carry-in paths facing the front gathering area 25 on the front side in FIG. 2 are selected, the guide rail member 21 or the guide rail member 21 of the three articles X is selected. Since there is no resistance due to the guide member 22, the article X1 in the center that reaches the main gathering area 29 the fastest is leading, and it moves along the guide member 22 with a gentle slope and a small resistance in FIG. Each of the pool gates 27 is opened at a predetermined time interval such that the article X2 on the side moves second, and the article X3 on the front side in FIG. 2 that moves along the guide rail member 21 having the largest resistance is the tail end. As a result, the articles X from the three article carry-in paths are aligned in a row, sent out from the front assembly area 25, conveyed along the guide rail member 21, and prevented from moving by the intermediate gate 31. Are stored in a state that they are aligned in a line. The same applies to the other front gathering areas 25, but in the front gathering areas 25 excluding both sides, they are conveyed to the intermediate gate 31 along the long piece portion 22a of the guide member 22. In this way, since the speed of the article X is adjusted by the guide rail member 21 and the guide member 22, the time difference for opening the three pool gates 27 is reduced, and the article X is unloaded while shortening the overall unloading time. It can be aligned in direction C.

In this way, the articles X stored in the respective entrance portions of the two main gathering areas 29 are carried into the main gathering area 29 by the opening of the intermediate gate 31, and then the front gathering area. Like 25, they are aligned and delivered in a line, and guided to the outlet 32 along the guide rail members 21 and 21 on both sides. At this time, the plurality of intermediate gates 31 are controlled to open similarly to the pool gate 27 described above. Furthermore, the movement of the two discharge gates 34 was blocked by the movement of the discharge gates 34.
The set of articles X is transferred from the discharge port 32 onto the delivery conveyor 19B and is conveyed to the final gate 38 along the alignment guide plates 35 and 36 on both sides, and then both final gates 3 are formed.
8 and 38 are alternately opened based on an interlocking signal from a packaging machine (not shown), so that they are alternately fed into the article delivery path 40 along the alignment guide plate 35 and discharged from the article delivery path 40 to the packaging process. To be done.

Although the combination weighing system is constructed as described above, various other constructions are possible for each unit.
For example, in this embodiment, by the weighing conveyor 14,
Weighing goods X while conveying them, but weighing conveyor 1
4 may be once stopped and then weighed. Further, in this case, as shown in FIG. 6 (A), a weighing gate 52 may be provided on the weighing conveyor 14 to weigh the article X in a state in which it is stopped by the weighing gate 52. This weighing gate 52 makes it possible to re-supply the article X from the supply path 6a when the weight of the article X is insufficient. Further, in the case of a chute (hopper) method that does not use a weighing conveyor, as shown in FIG. 6B, the discharging device 3 is provided below the supply path 6a.
Is provided, the weighing machine 53 in which the weighing pan 53P is tilted is arranged between them, and the weighing gate 52 is provided on the weighing pan 53P. The article X supplied from the supply path 6a is a weighing pan 53P.
The meter moves along the inclination of and is weighed in a state where it is stopped by the weighing gate 52. In this case, the weighing conveyor is not required, and the cost can be reduced.

Further, in this embodiment, one pool portion 23 is provided for the weighing machine 2, but FIGS. 7 (A) and 7 (B) are used.
Plural pieces may be provided as shown in FIG. In FIG. 7 (A),
A distribution conveyor 58 is arranged between the weighing conveyor 14 and the pool section 23 at the upstream end of the discharge conveyors 19A provided in the upper and lower two stages. The distribution conveyor 58 swings up and down around the roller 58a at the upstream end. The selection connection means 55 provided in the controller 45 selects one of the pool sections 23 which is selected by the combination calculation means 20 and the article X is discharged to the discharge device 3 and is emptied.
It is connected to the weighing conveyor 14 by rocking 8. Then, the next weighed article X is carried out and stored in the empty pool section 23. As a result, the weighing conveyor 1
By increasing the number of pool units 23 that store the articles X weighed by 4, the number of combinations increases, the selection range by the combination calculation expands, and the accuracy of combination weighing can be improved. The configuration of FIG. 7A does not disturb the alignment of the articles X when the articles X are vertically distributed, and is therefore suitable when the articles X are molded potato chips.

Further, in FIG. 7B, a plurality of (two in this example) pool sections 23A and 23B are provided for one weighing conveyor 14 on the same plane. A distribution gate 56 is provided at the central position.
Similarly to the above, the selection connection means 55 is the combination calculation means 20.
To the pool section 23A or 23B in which the article X has been discharged to the discharge device 3 by the sorting gate 56 and the weighing conveyor 14 is connected to carry out the next weighed article X, and the pool section 23A. , 23B are pooled and stored. The configuration of FIG. 7 (B) is suitable when the article X is a large biscuit or chocolate.

Further, a plurality of pool sections 23 may be arranged on the same plane along the transport direction C. For example, in FIG.
As shown in the plan view of (B), a plurality of (two in this example) second pool conveyors 23 forming a pool section for each supply path 6a are provided in series in the transport direction C, and 4 rows × n columns are provided. (N
Is an integer) and the combination is calculated by the combination calculating means 20. This second pool conveyor 23
Is swingable up and down, as shown in the side view of FIG. A collective conveyor 59 is arranged below the second pool conveyor 23. The transfer control means 57 of the control unit 45 causes the second pool conveyor 23 selected by the combination calculation means 20 to swing to transfer the articles X on the second pool conveyor 23 to the collecting conveyor 5.
Transfer to 9. The transferred article X is discharged to the packaging process. After that, the second pool conveyors 23 and the weighing conveyors 14 that have not been selected are made to travel, and the articles X are sequentially transferred from the upstream side to be stored on the selected and empty second pool conveyors 23. As a result, the number of combinations is further increased, the selection range by the combination calculation is further expanded, and high-speed and highly accurate weighing becomes possible. Note that FIG.
The circles in the dotted line shown in (B) indicate one set of combined articles that have been combined and discharged to the collecting conveyor 59.

Further, in this case, the combination calculation means 20
May perform the combination calculation including not only the article X on the second pool conveyor 23 but also the article X on the weighing conveyor 14. In this case, a combination calculation is performed from a matrix of 5 rows × n columns, and further, high-speed and highly accurate weighing is possible. However, weighing conveyor 1
In order to select the article X on No. 4, the second pool conveyor 23 immediately after that is also selected and the article X is not discharged, the article X is not transferred. For this reason,
The transfer state changing means 58 shown by the dotted line portion provided in the control unit 45 of FIG.
Both the second pool conveyor 23 and the second pool conveyor 23 immediately thereafter are simultaneously selected, and both the articles X are collected by swinging the selected second pool conveyor 23.
Be transferred to.

Further, in this embodiment, the combination is selected based on the weighing signal of the articles X weighed by each weighing machine 2 and stored in the pool section 23, but the combination is not selected (discharged) in the previous calculation. Select the next combination by combining the remaining items USP 4,491,189, USP 4,58
The remaining high speed operation as disclosed in 5,081 may be used. Further, in the case where different types of articles are caused to flow in the specific supply path 6a and the article and the different article in the other supply path 6a are combined, a combination that surely includes the article of the specific supply path 6a is selected. The measuring method shown in JP-A-58-82127 may be used. Further, there is a mixed weighing method of USP 4,549,617 in which a plurality of types of articles having a predetermined weight are combined and selected, and articles of a predetermined weight of each type are aggregated to obtain a target weight. For example, when the articles A, B, and C are combined, a + b + c obtained by adding the individual target weights a, b, and c is set as the target weight. In this case, the articles A, B, C
For each of the individual target weights a, b, c, the upper and lower limit values are checked, but the upper and lower limit values for the entire combined weight may not be checked.
When the articles A and B are combined, a combination calculation for the article A with the target value a as a target and a target weight W-a obtained by subtracting the actual measurement value Wa of the article A from the overall target weight W of the article B are performed. In some cases, the target weight W may be obtained by adding a combination calculation targeting If there is a limitation not only on the combination target weight but also on the number of combinations, it is possible to use the calculation of the number metric that selects the one that is closer to the target weight among the combinations satisfying the predetermined number.

Next, a second embodiment will be described. In the combination calculation, when the article X supplied from the specific supply path 6a is not selected indefinitely, not only the selection range of the combination calculation becomes narrow and the number of defective combinations increases, but also the supply path 6a is provided with Since the flow is stopped, the upstream production process may be affected and the entire system may have to be stopped. Therefore, the combination calculation system according to this embodiment integrates the discharge weights of the articles X on the respective supply passages 6a per hour, and supplies the discharge passages 6 having a small discharge weight.
Priority participation of a.

As shown in FIG. 9, the controller 45 in this case includes, in addition to the combination calculating means 20, a discharge weight integrating means 60 and a target weight upper / lower limit value changing means 61. The discharged weight integrating means 60 integrates the discharged weights of the articles X from the respective weighing machines 2. The target weight upper and lower limit value changing means 61 sets upper and lower limit values of the combined target weight of the article X based on the accumulated discharged weights so that the article X of the supply path 6a having a small discharged weight is easily selected for the combination calculation. change. For example, increase the upper limit value. When the accumulated discharge weight value is smaller than the predetermined discharge weight value, the combination calculating means 20 is based on the changed upper and lower limit values of the target weight so that the corresponding article X on the supply path 6a is preferentially selected. And perform a combination calculation. The operation of the combination weighing system will be described below with reference to the flowchart of FIG.

First, in step S1, the unbalance allowable value A and the allowable absolute upper limit value G are set in the controller 45 at the start of work. This unbalance allowance A is
This is the maximum value allowed as the difference L between the maximum and the minimum of the row of the articles X in each supply path 6a of the supply device 1 shown in FIG. ) And weight correspond to each other, the unit of weight (g) is used in this example.
Indicated by. Further, the allowable absolute upper limit G is a maximum value allowed as an error to the plus side with respect to the target weight in the combination calculation. For example, when the target weight allows up to 210 g for 200 g, this value G is 10 g. Becomes

Discharge weight accumulation means 60 of the controller 45
Next, in step S2, the weight signal from the load cell 46 in each weighing machine 2 is read, and in step S3
Then, the integrated discharge weight from the start of the work of each weighing machine 2 is calculated. The accumulated discharge weight is the accumulated weight when the article X is selected and discharged as a result of the combination calculation from the start of the work, and is not accumulated when the combination X is not selected.

Then, in step S4, the maximum value G1 and the minimum value G2 of the accumulated discharge amount of each weighing machine 2 up to the present time are calculated.
And, and further, in step S5, these values G
Based on 1 and G2, the upper limit Gx of the allowable range of the error to the plus side with respect to the target weight in the present combination calculation
Is calculated according to the following formula.

Gx = K · (G1−G2) / A (1) Here, for example, the imbalance allowable value A is 100 g, (G
1-G2) is 70 g and the proportional constant K (unit: g) is 5, this allowable upper limit Gx is 3.5 g. In this combination calculation, the target weight is 200 g, and the target weight 200 g The allowable error range is up to 0.5g.

The controller 45 then proceeds to step S6.
Then, the weighing machine having the minimum accumulated discharge weight (G2) is selected as the preferential participating weighing machine that preferentially participates in the combination calculation, and then in step S7, the allowable upper limit value Gx is equal to or larger than the allowable absolute upper limit value G set in step S1. Or not. If the allowable upper limit value Gx is less than the allowable absolute upper limit value G as in the above example, it is further determined in step S8 whether the allowable upper limit value Gx1 at the time of the previous processing is equal to the allowable absolute upper limit value G. . If the previous value Gx1 is also less than the allowable absolute upper limit value G, the target weight upper / lower limit value changing means 61 causes the allowable upper limit value Gx of this time (for example, 3.5 g in the above example) to be the upper limit of the error in step S9. After changing to, combination calculation is performed.

That is, a combination including the priority participation weighing machine and having a plus side error with respect to the target weight less than or equal to the allowable upper limit Gx and being closest to the target weight is selected.

Then, in step S10, the current measured weight of the weighing machine selected for this combination is added to the accumulated discharge weight up to the previous time to update the accumulated discharge weight, and then in step S11, the combination is selected. The articles X of the weighing machine are discharged and collected.

Specifically, first, a signal is output to the cylinder 26 so as to open the pool gate 27 of the weighing machine selected for the combination, and the article X whose movement is blocked by these pool gates 27 is discharged. It is discharged to the downstream side of the device 3 and collected by the discharging device 3. Almost at the same time, a signal is output to the cylinder 17 so as to open the supply gate 18 in the weighing machine with the pool gate 27 opened, and the article X for the next weighing is weighed by passing through the weighing conveyor 14. After that, it is transferred to the position of the pool gate 27. Then, when the articles X are aligned at the positions of all the pool gates 27, the next combination calculation is performed based on the weight values of these articles X.

In this way, the preferential participation weighing machine, that is, the weighing machine having the smallest accumulated discharge weight and the longest row of the articles X in the supply path 6a of the feeder 1 is selected as the combination, and the articles X are selected. It will be discharged, and the above-mentioned supply path 6
The row of articles X in a becomes shorter. Then, by repeating this, the accumulated discharge weight from each weighing machine 2, in other words, the length of the row of the articles X in each supply path 6a is averaged.

Thereafter, the target weight upper and lower limit value changing means 61
In step S12, the permissible upper limit value Gx of this time is replaced with the permissible upper limit value Gx1 of the previous time, and the process proceeds to the next process.

By the way, in the combination calculation in the above step S9, when the combination in which the error on the plus side with respect to the target weight is less than the allowable upper limit Gx is not obtained,
While maintaining this upper limit Gx, the combination calculation is performed except for the priority participating weighing machines. So in this case,
The averaging of the accumulated discharge weight is postponed and the weighing accuracy is maintained.

However, when the difference between the maximum value G1 and the minimum value G2 of the accumulated discharge weight becomes large, the value of the allowable upper limit Gx calculated in step S5 becomes large in proportion thereto, so that much. The probability that the priority participation weighing machine will participate in the combination is increased, and in this way, the contradictory requirements of maintaining the weighing accuracy and averaging the accumulated discharge weight are balanced, and these requirements are simultaneously achieved. Of.

Here, in step S7, the allowable upper limit value Gx
When it is determined that is greater than or equal to the allowable absolute upper limit G,
In step S13, the permissible absolute upper limit value G (for example, 10
g) is set as an allowable upper limit value Gx, and any further error is prohibited.

When the permissible absolute upper limit G is set to the permissible upper limit Gx in this way, the controller 45 performs the next process in which the permissible upper limit Gx becomes the previous value Gx1.
Steps S8 to S14 are executed, and it is determined whether or not the permissible upper limit Gx this time is smaller than a value obtained by dividing the permissible absolute upper limit G by the predetermined value N, and the permissible upper limit Gx is satisfied until Gx <G / N. Is held at the allowable absolute upper limit G.

That is, assuming that the allowable absolute upper limit value G is 10 g and the predetermined value N is 2, the allowable upper limit value Gx calculated this time is 5 g.
The allowable upper limit Gx is kept at 10 g until it becomes smaller. As a result, when the difference between the maximum value G1 and the minimum value G2 of the accumulated discharge weight becomes extremely large, the allowable upper limit value of the error in the combination calculation is increased until the calculated value of the allowable upper limit value Gx corresponding to this difference is sufficiently reduced. Is held at the maximum value G, during which the above-mentioned difference, that is, the variation in the length of the row of the articles X in the supply device 1 is eliminated.

In the above embodiment, the permissible upper limit value Gx is set to be proportional to the difference between the maximum value G1 and the minimum value G2 of the integrated discharge weight as in the above expression (1). As shown in 2), it may be set to be proportional to the square of the difference.

Gx = K · (G1−G2) ² / A (2) In this case, the maximum value G1 and the minimum value G2 of the cumulative discharge weight are
Since the permissible upper limit Gx increases at an accelerating rate as the difference between the two increases, as the variation in the row of the articles X in the supply device 1 increases, the participation in the combination of the priority participation weighing machines is more important than the maintenance of the weighing accuracy. As a result, the elimination of variations in the rows of the articles X is further promoted. Here, in the above equation (2), the proportional constant K is a dimensionless value.

Instead of accumulating the discharged weight as in the above embodiment, the discharge-free time may be totaled and the articles in the supply path 6a having a large discharge-free time may be preferentially participated. In this case, as shown in FIG. 11, the controller 45 is provided with a non-discharge time counting means (counter) 63, a count determination means 64 and a count setting means 65. The no-discharge time counting means (counter) 63 counts the no-discharge time when the article X is not discharged from the no-open time of the pool gate 27 of the discharging device 3. The count determination means 64 determines whether the totaled time is longer than the predetermined reference time set by the count setting means 69. When the time without discharge exceeds the predetermined time (set value), the combination calculation means 20 causes the article X on the supply path 6a corresponding to the discharge device 3 to be discharged.
A combination calculation is performed so that is preferentially selected.

Next, a third embodiment for preferential participation will be described with reference to FIG.
Shown in. This system is provided with an image pickup means (for example, an image sensor) 62 for each supply path 6a upstream of the weighing conveyor 14.
In addition, the controller 45 includes an image processing means 67, an article amount determination means 68, and a reference value setting means 69 built in the controller 45. The image sensor 62 photographs each supply path 6a and detects an image of the storage amount (holding length) of the article X per time for each supply path 6a. This image is image-processed by the image processing means 67 and is recognized by the size of the area on the screen. The article amount determination means 68 determines whether or not the area of the image is larger than the reference value of the area set by the reference value setting means 69, and prioritizes the article X of the supply path 6a having a large area in the same manner as above. Participate and select.

Next, in the first embodiment, in the discharging device 3, the alignment and collection are performed by the time difference between the gates, but in the fourth embodiment, as shown in FIGS. 13 to 18, an oblique conveyor is used. Align and collect. In this case, the case where the number of supply paths 6a is nine and the number of discharge conveyors that are the discharge devices 3 is also nine will be described as an example.

First, referring to FIG. 13, this discharge device 3
Is a wide flat belt type main conveyor 71 following the nine weighing conveyors 14 arranged in a row in the weighing machine 2.
The belt 72 of the main conveyor 71 is driven in the C direction by a motor (not shown).
Further, a frame 74 is installed above the main conveyor 71 via columns 73, and the belt 72 is supported by a partition member 75 supported in a suspended manner by the frame 74.
Is divided into nine rows of article transfer paths 76-1 to 76-9. These transfer paths 76-1 to 76-9 are connected to the front end of the weighing conveyor 14 respectively. Has become. In that case, these transfer paths 76-1 to 76-9 are
The first transfer path 76 located on one side of the main conveyor 71
-1 to the ninth transfer path 76-9 located on the other side, the length is sequentially increased.

In addition, in these transfer paths 76-1 to 76-9, the number is increased by one from the shortest first transfer path 76-1 to the longest ninth transfer path 76-9, that is, the first transfer path 76-1. One on the first transfer path 76-1 and two on the second transfer path 76-2.
Gates 77 are provided at a constant pitch, such as three in the third transfer path 76-3.

The gates 77, which are arranged in the width direction of the main conveyor 71 as a group, are attached to a common support shaft 78 supported by the frame 74. Therefore, the support 77 positioned on the most upstream side of the main conveyor 71 is supported. The shaft 78 supports a total of nine first gates 77 of the first to ninth transfer paths 76-1 to 76-9, and the support shaft 78 on the downstream side thereof supports the second to ninth gates.
A total of eight gates 7 for each second transfer path 76-2 to 76-9
7 is supported, and in the same manner, the support shaft 78 located on the most downstream side supports one ninth gate 77 of the ninth transfer path 76-9.

As shown in FIG. 14, a motor 79 is provided above the frame 74, and the motor 79 is provided.
Operation causes the nine support shafts 78 to rotate by a predetermined angle via the first crank mechanism 80, the relay shaft 41, and the second crank mechanism 82, whereby each of the transfer paths 76-1 to 76-9 is rotated. All the gates 77 are designed to open in the B direction all at once from the closed position shown in FIG.

Further, FIG. 13 which constitutes this discharge device 3
On the main conveyor 71 of the above, the first to ninth transfer paths 76-1 are provided.
A gathering conveyor 83 is arranged so as to connect the front ends of ~ 76-9. In that case, the respective transfer paths 76-1 to 76-9 are
Since the length from the first transfer path 76-1 to the ninth transfer path 76-9 gradually increases, the positions of the front ends thereof are lined up in an oblique direction, so that the collective conveyor 83 also crosses the main conveyor 71 obliquely. It is located in.

The collective conveyor 83 is the main conveyor 71.
The transfer paths 76-1 to 76-9 are supported by a frame 84 provided so as to straddle the transfer paths 76-1 to 76-9.
It has a large number of guide plates 86 that constitute a plurality of collecting paths 85 each continuing to the front end portion of the guide plate 86, and these guide plates 86 are attached to the two chains 87.

Then, the motor 88 attached to the frame 84 causes the guide plates 86 to move in parallel in the E direction via the chain 87. In that case,
These guide plates 86 intermittently move by one pitch from a position following the front end of the transfer path 76-i having one collecting path 85 to a position following the front end of the next transfer path 76-i + 1. It is supposed to do. Further, due to such movement of the guide plate 86, each collecting path 85 moves to the discharge position D next to the position following the front end portion of the ninth transfer path 76-9, and is formed by the fixed guide plate 89. After being connected to the discharge path 90, each of the guide plates 86 turns upward and returns to the first transfer path 76-1 side.

Further, a fixed wall 91 is provided on the downstream side of the collecting path 85 formed by each guide plate 86 in the collecting conveyor 83, and the fixed wall 91 closes the downstream end of each collecting path 85. .

The control unit 45 controls the traveling of the main conveyor 71, the opening / closing of the gate 77, the opening / closing operation and the operation of the collective conveyor 83 at a predetermined timing in the discharging device 3.

Next, the operation of this embodiment will be described. Figure 1
As shown in FIG. 6, among the nine articles X on the weighing conveyor 14, for example, the weight of the articles X on the first, second, fourth, and eighth weighing conveyors 14 corresponds to the optimum combination. Assuming that the articles X are discharged from the weighing conveyors 14 toward the discharging device 3, in the discharging device 3, the first, second, fourth and eighth transfer paths 76 on the main conveyor 71 are provided. -1, 76-2, 76-4, 76-8, the article X is introduced, and the main conveyor 71 travels to move the transfer paths 76-1, 76-2, 76-4, 76-8 First gate 7
It will be transferred to position 7.

Then, as shown by the chain line in FIG. 16, when all the gates 77 of the respective transfer paths 76-1 to 76-9 are opened at a predetermined timing, the first transfer path 76-1 is Since there is only one gate 77, the first transfer path 76-1
From the front to the gathering path 85 of the gathering conveyor 83
The article X is introduced into the specific collecting path 85a (hereinafter, referred to as the specific collecting path 85a), and is transported to the front end of the specific collecting path 85a by the traveling of the main conveyor 71 and received by the fixed wall 91. In addition, the second, fourth, and eighth transfer paths 76-2, 76-
The articles X of 4,76-8 are transferred to the position of the second gate 77.

Next, as shown in FIG. 17, in this state, the collecting conveyor 83 travels one pitch, and the specific collecting path 85 is moved.
a comes to a position following the front end of the second transfer path 76-2. At this time, the article X introduced into the specific collecting path 85a from the first transfer path 76-1 is transferred obliquely forward while being guided by the fixed wall 91, and is located in front of the second transfer path 76-2. .

Then, as shown in FIG. 18, the gates 77 of the transfer paths 76-1 to 76-9 are simultaneously opened again in this state, whereby the second gate of the second transfer path 76-2 is opened. The article X received by the 77 is the collecting path 8 in front of it.
5, the collecting path 85 is the first transfer path 76-1.
The article X from the above is the specific collecting path 85a already introduced, and the article X from the first transfer path 76-1 is transferred to the position of the fixed wall 91 at the front end of the collecting path 85a. The article X from the second transfer path 76-2 is the first transfer path 7
It will overlap the back of the article X from 6-1. At this time, the articles X on the fourth and eighth transfer paths 76-4 and 76-8 are
It is transferred to the position of the third gate 77.

Further, as shown by a chain line in FIG. 18, the collective conveyor 83 travels for two pitches to move the specific collecting path 85a.
When the gates 77 are opened all at once in a state where the gate 77 has reached the position following the front end of the fourth transfer path 76-4,
-4 article X is introduced from the fourth gate 77 into the specific collecting passage 85a, and similarly, the specific collecting passage 85a is connected to the eighth collecting passage 85a.
When all the gates 77 open all the way to the position following the transfer path 76-8, the article X is introduced from the eighth gate 77 of the eighth transfer path 76-8 to the specific collecting path 85a. become.

In this way, the first, second, fourth and eighth transfer paths 7 of the discharging device 3 are discharged simultaneously from the weighing machine 2.
The articles X introduced into the respective 6-1, 76-2, 76-4, and 76-8 are sequentially introduced into the specific collecting path 85a of the collecting conveyor 83, and sequentially overlap with those introduced earlier. As a result, these articles X are assembled in one row while maintaining the aligned state.

Then, as the collective conveyor 83 runs,
When the specific collecting path 85a reaches the discharging position D, the articles collected in one row in the collecting path 85a are discharged from the discharging device 3 to the packaging step (not shown) through the discharging path 90. Become.

Next, in the discharging device 3 according to the fifth embodiment, a speed difference is provided between the discharge conveyors 92 provided corresponding to the respective weighing conveyors 14, and the article X is caused by this speed difference.
Align and collect. This state is shown in FIG. As shown in FIG. 19 (A), the discharging device 3 is provided with discharging conveyors 92-1 to 92-18 having different speeds such that V1> V2 ...> V18 for each weighing conveyor 14. A pusher conveyor 94 is arranged in the direction (F direction) orthogonal to the discharge direction (C direction) on the downstream side of each discharge conveyor 92-1 to 92-18. The pusher conveyor 94 is
As shown in FIG. 19 (B), it is installed on the slide plate 96 and sequentially collects the articles X discharged from the discharge conveyor 92. An endless belt 94C spans between the pair of pulleys 94A and 94B. And that belt 9
Scrapers 95 are planted on 4C at a constant pitch. The operation of this discharge device will be described below.

First, the articles X selected for combination weighing are placed on the discharge conveyor 92 all at once. For example, speed V1
The article X1 placed on the discharge conveyor 92-1 is discharged fastest and reaches the discharge port 95-1 of the pusher conveyor 94 fastest. The scraper 95 is F
It pushes to the discharge port 95-2 on the downstream side in the direction and stops. At this time, the article X2 from the discharging conveyor 92-2 having the next highest speed V2 is discharged next, and at the discharging port 95-2,
Item X which arrives behind item X1 which has already arrived
By pushing 1 out, the article X1 and the article X2 are aligned. The scraper 95 pushes the aligned articles X1 and X2 again to the discharge port 95-3 on the downstream side in the F direction and stops. Hereinafter, similarly, the articles X sequentially arranged and collected are F
It is extruded toward the downstream side in the direction. Then, the articles X combined and selected from the discharge port 97 provided on the most downstream side in the F direction are discharged to the conveyor 98 linked with the packaging machine in a state of being aligned in a column.

[Brief description of drawings]

FIG. 1 is a schematic side view of a combination weighing system according to a first embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a schematic plan view of FIG.

FIG. 3 is a block configuration diagram of an electric control system of the embodiment.

FIG. 4 is a side view showing a moving state of an article.

FIG. 5 is a side view in which a run-up conveyor is added.

FIG. 6 (A) is a side view showing a static weighing device with a gate. FIG. 6B is a side view showing a chute type static weighing.

FIG. 7A is a plan view showing a state in which a plurality of pool units are provided on a plane with respect to one weighing conveyor. FIG. 7B is a side view showing a state in which a plurality of pool units are provided above and below one weighing conveyor.

FIG. 8 (A) is a side view showing a state in which a plurality of pool parts are arranged in series. FIG. 8B is the same as FIG.
It is a schematic plan view of (A).

FIG. 9 is a block diagram showing a part of a control unit of the combination weighing system of the second embodiment.

FIG. 10 is a flowchart showing the operation of the combination weighing system of the second embodiment.

FIG. 11 is a block diagram showing a part of a control unit that performs preferential participation according to another embodiment.

FIG. 12 is a block diagram showing a main part of a combination weighing system according to a third embodiment.

FIG. 13 is a schematic plan view of an ejection device according to a fourth embodiment.

14 is an enlarged sectional view taken along the line aa of FIG.

FIG. 15 is an enlarged cross-sectional view taken along the line bb of FIG.

FIG. 16 is a plan view showing a first stage of the operation of the fourth embodiment.

FIG. 17 is a plan view showing a second stage of the operation of the fourth embodiment.

FIG. 18 is a plan view showing a third stage of the operation of the fourth embodiment.

FIG. 19 (A) is a schematic plan view of an ejection device according to a fifth embodiment. FIG. 19 (B) is a schematic perspective view of FIG. 19 (A).

[Explanation of symbols]

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 ... Supply device, 2 ... Measuring device, 3 ... Ejection device, 6a ... Supply path, 20 ... Combination calculation means 21, 22, 27, 28,
31, 32, 38 ... Aligning means, X ... Article.

─────────────────────────────────────────────────── ─── Continuation of the front page (72) Inventor Yoshiharu Asai 1 959 Shimoda, Ritto-cho, Kurita-gun, Shiga Prefecture Ishida Co., Ltd. Shiga Works (56) References: Kohei Hei 7-33139 (JP, Y2) Patent 3392537 ( JP, B2) Patent 3392538 (JP, B2) French patent application publication 1269978 (FR, A 1) (58) Fields investigated (Int.Cl. ⁷ , DB name) G01G 19/387

Claims (2)

(57) [Claims] 1. A supply device provided with a plurality of supply paths for sequentially supplying articles in parallel in a lateral direction orthogonal to a conveyance direction of the articles, and arranged corresponding to each of the supply paths, and supplied from the supply paths. A plurality of weighing machines that weigh the dispensed articles, a discharging device that discharges the articles carried out from each of the weighing machines to a predetermined discharge port, and a weighing value of each weighing machine is combined and calculated, and the calculation result is A combination calculation means for selecting a combination of weighing machines within an allowable range to carry out a weighed article to the discharging device, and a transportation timing of the selected article transported by the discharging apparatus, All selected items at the outlet by making each
A combination weighing system comprising: an aligning unit that aligns along a transport direction. 2. The main conveyor according to claim 1, wherein the discharging device includes a main conveyor into which articles discharged from the respective weighing machines in an aligned state are simultaneously carried to an upstream end in a parallel state, and the articles on the main conveyor are A large number of gates are arranged in the plurality of rows of article transfer paths, one from each of the transfer paths near one side of the main conveyor, to prevent the transfer of the articles by the main conveyor, and each transfer. It is arranged so as to cross the front of the gate at the final stage of the path, and the articles that have been blocked from being transferred by the gate at the time of opening the gate at the final level of each transfer path are introduced. A collective conveyor that moves the introduced articles in parallel to the front of the gate at the final stage of the adjacent transfer path by laterally moving one pitch at a time; And a lateral movement control means for intermittently transferring the article to the position of the next gate of the transfer path or to the collective conveyor, and laterally moving the collective conveyor one pitch before the next simultaneous opening and closing of the gate. Combination weighing system.